Is the market ready for a video iPod?

It's all about the content. Music players are so successful because I can take my CD collection and rip to mp3/aac to put on the iPod or buy music from the iTunes music store. The reason the Photo iPod isn't as successful is because the screen is the same size as the regular iPod. In order to be a truely successful device, the screen needs to be at least as big as the PSP. The real killer app for video, however, is content. There needs to be a way to (legally) get my DVDs to my portable device (and have it done quickly and easily). There also needs to be an iTunes Video Store where you can get more than just music videos (perhaps downloadable short movies, full features, and other video content. If I can't get my DVDs to the device, then it's pretty much a no deal. The argument, of course, is the success of the UMD movie disc from Sony...

For an iPod video to work you need to be able to put some content inside. Today 99% of the content people care about is in DivX format or some kind of mpeg-4. Do you imagine Apple launching a product able to read DivX stuff as Apple has been promoting h264 for months ? And by the way, true DivX is a proprietary format. Just like Microsoft's video format. Why would Apple licence any of them ?

Come on, a video iPod? Have you read about UMTS video streaming usage? Zip. Nada. Less than nothing. The market for small portable video playback devices is too small. And the few people that do have such a device, hardly ever use the live TV and VOD features. And if they do, they watch content for just 1 minute. Even videoclips are too long! So what's left? A preview, a news flash and a weather snippet. Lack of volume usage has got nothing to do with user interfaces or better marketing: the market is just not waiting for this. (Please stop considering yourself as being the average consumer). Listening to music is an experience which you can do while jogging, reading, driving and working. No can do with video. Besides, if you want to watch something for more than 5 minutes, the screen needs to be larger. 7" at least. Try to pocket that! No, the future of digital video is not on a tiny portable device. Video content services need a huge volume to break even or make a profit. Volume is in the living room since that's the only place where people take time to consume TV and VOD. It's the only place where content producers, networks and advertisers can make a buck out of free-to-air TV, payTV and Pay-Per-View services. VODcasting is the way to go. True video on-demand in a guided environment. Apple should bring this to the living room with a dedicated box like the Mac Mini, but with an interface that's good for TV.

The technology is available to provide consumers with a product like "iSlate". Of course only Apple could really do it right, although several other companies are attempting to create some variation of this device. Unfortunately many are too focused on video playback only, & not creating a true multi-function device that could be used at home, at the office, or on the road. This product would integrate well into the "Digital Lifestyle" philosophy & compliment existing Apple products. It would provide a screen large enough to actually watch video & view photos, while still being small enough to be portable. It needs to be smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a PDA. Granted, you can not put a device the size of a DVD case in your pocket, but something doesn't have to fit in a pocket to be portable. This device could be used in so many different situations that it would have broad appeal in the market. I only pray that Apple is working on such a device & will release it in 2004. They have an opportunity to impact the industry with the iSlate & iVideo media Store as much as the iPod & iTMS will. iSlate New Apple mini-tablet > PMA (portable media appliance) Designed not to be a creative device like a desktop or laptop, but rather a sophisticated display device that communicates seamlessly with other devices via Rendezvous & 802.11, BT, GPRS, FireWire, etc. Device Size: 8 x 5.0 x .65 (15oz) 1/2 size of a 17 PowerBook 2x size of a Palm T5 or an iPod size of a DVD movie case small enough to hold with one hand by the bezel (.5 bezel on the sides) Screen: 800 x 480 pixels minimum (1024 x 600 ideally) 8 LCD (16:9 or 16:10 ratio) 1/2 size of 17 PowerBook screen 2x size of a Palm T5 screen able to display 640 x 480 material & DVD (720x480) quality video natively Battery: 6-9 hour Li-Ion battery (or some new battery technology) Storage: 1.8 40GB or 60GB hard drive (additional capacity can come from external devices) 256MB or 512MB RAM - fixed SD slot (w/ adapter for xD & Smart Media) Processor & OS ?: Motorola 800 MHz G4 mobile w/ Mac OS X lite or Intel 500 MHz XScale PXA270 w/ Mac OS Mobile? Connectivity: 802.11 > Desktop or Laptop, Stereo, Internet via Wi-Fi hotspots Bluetooth > Keyboard, Mouse, PDA, Wireless Headphones, Internet via GSM Phone FireWire > iPod, Computer, Hard Drive, DVD/CD writer, Video Camera, iSight USB 2.0 > Printer, PDA, Digital Still Camera mini-DVI w/adapter for: -> ADC & VGA for larger monitor -> DVI for video projector or HDTV -> S-Video for video projector or TV -> Composite for video projector or TV Stereo mini out Stereo mini in Rendezvous for seamless connectivity to other devices Input: Inkwell via touch screen &/or stylus Keyboard & mouse via Bluetooth or USB Microphone Remote control via Bluetooth Applications: inkwell, iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, Safari, QuickTime, iSync, Rendezvous Preview, Mail, iCal, Address Book, Sherlock, iChat AV Keynote, FileMaker, Quicken, etc. A/V Formats: H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, Audible, JPEG, TIFF, GIF Accessories: Charger, External Battery, Stand, clip for iSight, Portable folding BT keyboard, BT mouse Headphone w/Microphone boom, quality stereo headphones Price ??: $699 to $999 Create a device that is bigger that the largest PDA or Archos type device, yet smaller than the average notebook or tablet computer. Imagine if you will, holding a device (about the size of a DVD case) away from you anywhere from 12" to 18". Obviously a 4" screen would be inadequate, but a 7" to 9" diagonal widescreen would be more than acceptable. It would also need to be viewable in portrait or landscape mode. It could still be small enough to fit in a stack of books, a briefcase, a large purse, of any number of other carrying cases. It would be something that could be viewed in an office, at home, in a coffee shop, on an airplane or train, or even in the backseat of a car. The idea is not to see how much visual information one can cram into a small space (3" to 4" screens) or replace existing devices like the TV or Video Projector. The idea is to create a device that is a reasonable compromise between portability & "acceptable or pleasurable" viewing for multiple applications & that also complements existing devices. Although a 4 lb, 12" notebook computer displays video beautifully (I use one everyday), it is too big for the situations I have described. Beyond the innumerable business applications it could fulfill, it could display video & photos on a screen that is much bigger than an Archos type device or PDA, & yet smaller than a notebook computer. It doesnt need to carry everything all the time, so it doesnt require a massive hard drive. The internal HD needs only to be large enough for the OS, applications & enough storage to carry material while you away from any connectiv

MP3 worked because you being entertained while on the go. Walking, driving, anything. Video does not have the same qualities. Imagine running to catch a bus while watching Aliens. Or driving on a motorway while catching friends. Video is flawed as a portable entertainment device. A phone would be good, by why not a ppc type phone, I have mp3s, video and games on my phone, and thats before everyone started creaming over their PSPs.

iPod photo failed because you had to connect it to your mac to get the photos on there. Apple just MESSED UP that one majorly. Professional photographer friends of mine who have just moved all their work flow to digital bought an iPod Photo as a photo wallet to use when traveling when they just came out, only to discover it could not be used this way --the only reasonable way really--and just returned it 2 days later. iPod photo was just not thought out. It screamed failure from day one. iPod Video hopefully will not make an appearance before some infrastructure is in place to deal with it. (like why in the hell does the Mac Mini not have a TV/Cable tuner, and Apple software DVR?). Portable video has been around since the 80s and its never been more then a side business for electronic companies. The most successful portable video is what is now found in the back seat of most mini vans, which really is not a market for Apple to be in. I really hope Steve sticks to music and improves infrastructure to get Get Video and takes his time before he shows a useless video pod. Downloading 60 min videos on the web sucks, but if you don't make a tool like iPhoto (not iTunes) that lets people do the DVR action with their Mac Mini and able to get the TONS of already available content that Cable/Satellite/Networks offer then nothing is going to change. the iPod's success is really more a result at first at least of people wanting to carry tons of the MP3's they where making of their cd's (and downloading off of Napster) go more places then just the office (where most people back then had the high speed connection to download large files). iTunes store is definitely fueling the fire but that came after the initial success. The only similar application these days is DVR (MCPC) which Microsoft and Cronies are trying to bully into but are badly failing at, and this is the Video correlation apple needs to parlay into new products (Mac MINI is SCREAMING for use in this application.) Also Sony is already there as far as I am concerned with their PSP, which is also much more of a compelling buy presently due to its ability to PLAY fun games on the run which is much more compelling then watching TV on the run. if Sony fails in the video model (which it is supposedly not doing since they announced that almost half their UMD disk sales are movies) then Apple can improve on it in a gracious manor, but really they need to thread lightly as them are treacherous waters.

I think that a Video iPod makes a hellava lot more sense than a iTunes phone. But I'm admittedly biased because I think that cell phones, as a general rule, suck, and I'm not talking about UIs. And I disagree with Jeff Kirk when he says, "I think the PSP will take the portable video market. Apple needs to stay one step ahead (like they always have). Don't follow in the direction of Sony." If Apple took that attitude and not made the original iPod, the company would not be in the shape, either financially or prestige-wise, that it is in today. Back then, Apple was far behind and there were a lot of descent MP3 players on the market. But Apple knew that they needed a digital music strategy. So they took a good look at the market, devised a plan of action, and implemented that plan perfectly. There's no reason why they couldn't repeat that now with the Video iPod. Especially since the only competition out there is the PSP. There are reasons why a Video iPod would be more desirable than the PSP. For one thing, you could store more movies on the Video iPod's hard drive than you could practically carry around with all those PSP discs - better portability. Plus, the Video iPod would almost certainly have a better UI, designed especially for watching movies - not for playing video games and, oh yeah, you can watch movies on it, too. Not to mention the brand recognition of the iPod line. I know that Sony has a fair amount of that with the PlayStation, but I'm wondering if Apple has more weight with the iPod branding. I know that, in the past, I've said that I don't want to see a Video iPod. But given the pending announcement on Wednesday, and the fact that that announcement might be for an iTunes phone, I'm praying for the Video iPod.

I agree with Jan. We know how to download, and content is already there if you know where to look. All we need now is the vPod. I wrote an article about the possibility of a video iPod in February. You can take a look if you are interested. http://www.podite.com/munity/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=18&mode=&order=0&thold=0

In order for a video ipod to be succesfull, apple would have to realease itunes 5 before the realse of a 'vpod'. Itunes 5, would almost certainly include video downloads, I have a feeling that something very similair to this is brewing out in Cupertino

You know what could be interesting? An iPod Camera/DV Camcorder. Ample space for lots of snaps and long movies.